Chick box lid



K. -I. MILLER CHICK BOX LID May 25, 1943.

Filed July 7, 1941 Patented May 25, 1943 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

My invention relates to containers and particularly lightweight containers of sheet material which are useful in transporting live baby chicks.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a chick box lid which will permit stacking a large number of boxes, one on top of the other and separated one from the other without fear of the separating elements giving way so that the boxes might be pressed one upon the other and smother the chicks for lack of ventilation.

Also among the objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved chick box li'd so constructed that it can be used with box bodies which have a bottom raised above the lower edge and thereby permit the side walls of the box bodies to be positioned one above the other in alinement when boxes are stacked one on top of the other.

Among the further objects of my invention is to provide a new and improved chick box lid in which is incorporated hollow upwardly extending ribs or bosses for reinforcing and ventilating purposes, which are so positioned on the lid that,

they permit a box body with a raised bottom to be positioned upon the lid in stacking in such a manner that the box body is supported not only at its outer edges but also across the bottom portion.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set fortln pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a stack of boxes utilizing my improved lid,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the blank prior being formed into a lid,

Figure 3 is a top view of the completed lid,

Figure 4 is a side view of the lid.

In providing suitable boxes for shipping live baby chicks, certain essentials must be kept in i mind. The boxes must be so constructed that there is plenty of ventilation through them and around them so that the baby chickswill not smother. It is also necessary to have these boxes of light-weight construction but nevertheless built with suflicient reinforcement and rigidity. Boxes having the proper structure will remain in their original form without crushing. Moreover, the spacing elements which separate the bottom of one box from the top of another will retain their shape and the tops will be prevented, when boxes are stacked, from crushing and thereby destroying the ventilation provided between upper and lower boxes. While some boxes are provided with a perfectly flat bottom, it has been found that boxes which have a raised bottom are more serviceable in that they permit circulation of air underneath the bottom and also prevent the lowermost box in a stack from being positioned directly on a. concrete platform which might be too cold in the winter for the baby chicks, or which during other seasons might become wet and thereby destroy the bottom of the lowermost box.

Since it is not advantageous to have a different kind of box for the bottom of a stack, all boxes must be uniform in shape and construction so that they may be interchanged in stacking one upon the other during shipment. The chick box vlid herein forming the subject matter of my invention is one especially adapted to support a box having a raised bottom. It is designedprimarily as an improvement'in the reinforced and ventilated shipping box comprising the subject matter of my Patent No. 1,706,804, issued March In the drawing there is shown a stack of chick boxes comprising box bodies ID each provided with one of my improved lids H. The boxes are shown stacked one upon the other with the bottom edges of the upper boxes resting upon the lid of the next lower box. Boxes may be stacked eight or ten high, depending upon circumstances 1 and convenience in handling.

As shown, the box body l0 has side walls 14 and end walls It. The box bodies are provided with a raised bottom It which may be an inch or two above the lower edges of the side and end walls. There is accordingly formed an air space between the bottom of each box and the supporting surface upon which the box is positioned. The portion of the side walls between thelevel of the box bottom and the lower edges may be perforated with apertures 20, as shown, or may have cut out sections or some other means for permitting air to circulate underneath the bottom of the box. By thus providing a circulating air space, air is permitted to circulate into contact with the top of a box upon which the bottom of one of the boxes .I 0 might rest, as shown in Figure l.

The lid for the box is ordinarily formed from a blank, as shown in Figure 2, wherein the dotted lines represent creases for folding purposes and the solid lines represent cuts in the blank clean through the material. The material forming the blank may be strawboard, cardboard, corrugated board or any one of the common forms of lightweight material ordinarily used in making boxes and cartons. The central portion of the blank comprises a fiat top 22 which is provided with flaps 24 adapted to be bent down to form side walls and flaps 25 likewise adapted to be bent down and form end walls. Turned-over corners 28 are likewise provided on the side walls which are bent around the end walls and stapled or otherwise secured thereto.

Upwardly extending reinforcing ribs 32, 34, 36 and. 38 are formed in the fiat top. As indicated best on Figure 2, the blank material is creased along the lines 40, 4| and 42 on the lower side and along the lines 44, 45 and 46 on the upper side. The lines 40, 42, 44 and 46 form, respectively, the bottom edges of the upwardly directed recesses here shown having a V-shape. The lines 4| and 45, respectively, are the center lines of the V-shaped recesses.

Intermediate the outside ends of the ribs 32 and 34, there is shown a cut out portion 50 which is not creased like the ribs and which forms in effect a spacer between the ribs 32 and 34. Likewise on the side walls 24, there is a cut out portion 52 which is not creased. Similar cut out portions 5.4 and 55 are provided adjacent the ribs 56 and38 on the other side of the lid. The solid lines adjacent the cut out portions, of course, represent incisions clean through the material forming the lid.

When the lid is assembled, the creased portions 4! and 45, respectively, are pushed upwardlyforming a triangular-shaped rib. Pushingrthe ribs up has a tendency to shorten the length of the box between the ends 26. As the length is thus apparently shortened, the free ends of the cutout portions 50, 52, 54 and 56, respectively, overlap the material on the opposite side. The cut out portions are then stapled securely to the material and thus sustain the ribs in their upwardly extending position. The cut out portions form tie tongues from one side of the rib to the other.

It is important to note further that the rib 34 has its outer end 60 positioned inwardly from the edge of the side wall 24 a distance slightly in excess of the thickness of the side wall of a box body. Similarly the rib 32 has its outside end 62 positioned inwardly from the adjacent side wall 24. The outside ends of ribs 36 and 38 similarly are positioned inwardly from the side walls a corresponding distance.

It is also significant to note that by providing cutout portions 52 and 56 on the side walls 24 and stapling them fast to the material on the opposite side of the open ends of the recess, the length of the side walls is fixed. Therefore, since the end walls 26 and side walls 24 both have fixed lengths, the lid will retain its shape and size and will always fit snugly about the top of the box body.

When the boxes are stacked as shown in Figure 1, the second box from the bottom, for example,

will be positioned on top of the lid of the bottommost box. Since the ends 60, 62, for example, are set inwardly from the outer edge of the side walls of the lid, the side walls of the box body will rest directly upon the top flat surface of the lid in vertical alinement with the side walls of the body of the lowermost box.

Similarly, side walls of the third box from the bottom will be directly in alinement with the side walls of all the boxes below it. In addition the side walls below the level of the bottom of each box will be given some lateral support by the ends of the ribs and will prevent caving in or crushing of the lower portion of the walls. By stacking boxes built as described, the side walls form in effect a column from the lowermost box to the topmost box and produce a more rigid stack.

In addition it is found good practice to make the height of the rib from the top of a lid to the apex approximately the same height as the distance between the lower edge of the box body and the level of the bottom of the box. When this construction is followed, the ribs form a support for the raised bottom of the box in addition to the support given the outer walls. Further, by reason of constructing the entire carton of sheet material and'providing it with ample ventilating spaces, sufficient ventilation is provided between adjacent upper and lower boxes so that despite the rigidity of the stack of the boxes, there will still be plenty of air circulating between the boxes in order that the bady chicks may not suffocate for lack of air.

There has thus been provided a new and .irn- 4 proved chick box lid of rigid construction and especially adapted for use with boxes having raised bottoms in such a manner that for purposes of stacking, the boxes may be freely interchanged with regard to their position one ontop of the other.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device with out departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which maybe reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. A box lid structure for use with box bodies having a raised bottom and outer side walls ex.- tending below said bottom to a supporting sur- 4 face comprising a piece of sheet material having top between opposite sides, said sheet material including tie tongues on the side walls adjacent the outer ends of said respective ribs securing the sides of the ribs together at said outer ends and fixing the lengths of said side walls, the ends of said ribs adjacent the side walls being respectively set inwardly from the line of said side walls a distance not less than the side wall thick ness of a box body to permit the lower edges of said box body to rest on said flat top in alinement with the side walls of the next lower box body, said ribs having contact with the underside of the box bottom and providing thereby independent support for said box bottom.

2. A box lid structure for use with box bodies having a raised bottom and outer side walls extending below said bottom to a supporting surface comprising a piece of sheet material having a flat top for the lip and vertical side and end walls, hollow discontinuous upwardly -extending reinforcing ribs in parallel alinement extending across the top between opposite sides, a tie tongue intermediate discontinuous portions of each respective rib separating one portionfrom the other, spanning the space between adjacent discontinuous portions of each rib and securing the sides of the rib together, tie tongues on the side walls adjacent the outer ends of said respective ribs securing the sides together at said outer ends and fixing th lengths of said side walls, the ends of said ribs adjacent the side walls being set respectively inwardly from the line of said side walls a distance not substantially greater than the side wall thickness of a box body to permit the lower edges of said box body to rest throughout their length on said flat top in alinement with the side walls of the next lower box body, said ribs having contact with the underside of the box bottom and providing thereby independent support for said box bottom.

3. A box lid structure for use with box bodies having a raised bottom and outer side walls extending below said bottom to a supporting surface comprising a piece of sheet material having a flat top for the lid and vertical side and end walls, hollow discontinuous upwardly extending substantially V-shaped reinforcing ribs in parallel alinement spanning the top from side to side, a tie tongue intermediate adjacent discontinuous portions of each respective rib separating one portion from the other and spanning the space at the open sides of the V-shaped rib and thereby securing the sides of the rib together, tie tongues on the side walls adjacent the outer ends of said respective ribs securing the sides of the ribs together at said outer ends and fixing the length of said side walls, the ends of said ribs adjacent the side walls being set respectively inwardly from the line of said side walls a distance not substantially greater than the side wall thickness of a box body to permit the lower edges of said box body to rest throughout their length on said flat top in alinement with the side walls of the next lower box body, said ribs having a height substantially equal to the vertical distance between the box bottom and the lower edges of the side walls and the outer ends thereof in contact relation with the inside surface of the side walls of the box body and providing thereby independent vertical support for the box bottom and lateral support for the box walls.

4. A box structure designed for stacking in vertical spaced relation one upon another, comprising a box body of sheet material having side walls extending downwardly for supporting the body on the lower edges thereof, the lower portions of the side walls being perforated adjacent said lower edges, a box bottom elevated above said perforations, a box lid of sheet material, and sets of hollow, upwardly extending rib elements positioned across the lid between opposite sides thereof, said sheet material including tie tongues between adjacent ends of respective rib elements securing the sides of the rib elements together, the ends of said rib elements adjacent the side walls being set inwardly from the line of said side walls a distance not less than the thickness of the side walls of the box body, permitting the box next above to be supported in part by contact of the lower edges thereof with said lid, the tops of said rib elements being in supporting contact with the bottom of the box next above and the outside ends of said ribs being in end- Wise supporting relationship to the lower perforated portion of the sides of the box body next above.

5. In a paperboard box lid, a substantially flat top portion having transversely extending upstruck reinforcing ribs formed therein, said ribs being formed in alined pairs, each pair being spaced by a flat tie tongue, and downturned side and end wall portions, said ribs having their outer ends spaced inwardly from said side wall portions, so that said ends lie in a plane spaced from the plane of the inner face of said side wall portions by a distance not less than the thickness of the lid material.

KINNEY I. MILLER. 

